Speakers – Austin

Austin, Texas | January 16, 2018>

Jeffrey CohenChief Counsel and Director of Government RelationsAPCO International

Jeffrey Cohen is Chief Counsel and Director of Government Relations at APCO International. In this capacity, Jeff provides strategic guidance on policy, legislative, and regulatory matters to advance the association’s work on 9-1-1 and first responder communications.

Prior to joining APCO, Jeff served as a detailee from the Federal Communications Commission, for the minority staff of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. While on the Hill, Jeff was one of the authors of the FirstNet public safety legislation enacted in February 2012. At the FCC, Jeff served as Senior Legal Counsel to the Chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. Before his move to the federal government, Jeff was a partner at the Washington, DC telecommunications law firm of Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, where he worked over ten years on wireless regulatory matters since graduating from the George Washington University Law School with honors in 1994.

Jeff also holds a B.S. cum laude in electrical engineering from the George Washington University. Jeff is a recipient of the FCC’s Silver Medal Award, APCO’s Leadership in Regulatory Service Award and the National Emergency Number Association’s Presidential Award.

Gerald “Jay” EnglishChief Technology Officer
APCO International

Jay has over 30 years of Public Safety and technology experience. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force and United States Marine Corps, having served in airborne Electronic Warfare and Intelligence billets. Jay has served in a number of Police, Fire, EMS and Public Safety communications leadership positions. His experience includes Patrol, Investigations, and Command of three consolidated 911 Communications centers, Law Enforcement patrol divisions, and a County Detention facility. In addition to his public safety service, Jay is an active member of the US Air Force Auxiliary / Civil Air Patrol, holding the rank of Lt Colonel, and has served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and IT, Inspector General, and Group Commander.He served for four years as the Director of Communications Center and 9-1-1 Services for the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO). He is currently employed as the Public Safety Program Manager for the US Department of Homeland Security, National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), National Coordinating Center for Communications (NCC).

Jay served as the Chair of the Cybersecurity Working Group for the FCC Task Force on Optimal PSAP Architecture (TFOPA) tasked with developing a strategy for cybersecurity related to Next Generation 9-1-1. Jay’s additional work in cybersecurity includes articles for several national publications, authoring a chapter for a college text on public safety communications, and service on several national cybersecurity committees. Jay was selected as one of the “Top 25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers” in government by Government Technology magazine for 2017.

Mark ReddishSenior Counsel and Manager of Government Relations, APCO International

A graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, Mark is also certified as a firefighter and emergency medical technician in Maryland. He’s been a member of the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad since 2007, volunteering 20-30 hours per week at a station that responds to motor vehicle accidents, structure fires and medical emergencies in the metro DC area. During law school, Mark worked as a law clerk in the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and as an intern in the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission.

Prior to law school, Mark served as a research assistant at the National Institute of Mental Health. He conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments related to autism spectrum disorder and semantic organization in the brain. Mark earned a B.A. in psychology, summa cum laude, from Washington University in St. Louis and a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law where he served as an editor on the Jessup International Moot Court board.